Campaign: The Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë has declared war on the sea of cigarette butts that litter the city's streets. 10,000 new ashtrays will be installed across Paris to help tackle the problem

Thousands of ashtrays will be installed across Paris in a bid to tackle the city's rising tide of cigarette litter.

Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë has announced the huge roll-out in a bid to tackle the sea of discarded butts left on the city's streets by smokers.

The problem has reportedly worsened since Parisians were banned from smoking in public spaces such as bars and cafes five years ago.

As well as providing 10,000 extra ashtrays
in the streets, Mr Delanoë, who presents himself as an eco-friendly
mayor, has also sought to increase fines for those caught throwing cigarette
butts on the floor.

Francois
Dagnaud, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of cleanliness, told
French newspaper Le Parisien that the number of cigarette butts on the
city's streets had 'exploded.'

'At
the entrance to metros, at the entrances to cafés and restaurants,
the situation isn't acceptable ... the sidewalks are carpeted with
cigarette butts,' he said.

According to anti-smoking campaigners in France, it takes up to 12 years for a cigarette butt to decompose.

A third of street litter bins will have ashtrays installed under Mr Delanoë's plan.

He has also asked
the government to increase the fine for throwing a cigarette butt
into the street to 68 euros (£42), the Daily Telegraph reports.

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A
separate anti-smoking campaign was launched yesterday, under the slogan
'don't throw out your cigarette butt, become a hero,' according to the Telegraph.

Mr Dagnaud said the goal was to encourage smokers to 'change their behaviour.' Mr Delanoë also plans to cut
the number of high-polluting cars in Paris, and introduce a charging
scheme for driving into the city - similar to London's congestion
charge.

During
the past decade, Paris has reduced the amount of traffic on its roads
by around a quarter due to a raft of new rules - but the mayor is
determined to introduce further anti-pollution measures.

Mr Delanoë (left) has proposed a series of anti-pollution measures to improve the city's environment. Cigarette litter is thought to have grown in Paris following a ban on smoking in bars and cafes